


What Being Late Did

by RamenNoodleDream



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/F, Highschool AU, I project a few of my lame trashcanons at certain points, M/M, Most Likely Slow Updates, also may include springles, more than likely will, no Mikasa or Annie since I cannot write for them at all, other ships but main one is jeanmarco
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-23
Updated: 2015-08-16
Packaged: 2018-04-10 15:53:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4397966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RamenNoodleDream/pseuds/RamenNoodleDream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even in his senior year of highschool, Jean Kirstein stayed the same. He was still the same rebellious, smart mouthed, semi anti-social kid he had always been. He still had the same very small group of friends he got in his first year, and he liked it this way. It remained this way, and Jean didn't complain. Well, it did remain this way until a new student showed up late on the first day. </p><p>Now Jean's life is starting to change, and it leaves him with one of his biggest questions: What did being late do?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This entire thing is based off of entries I did for JeanMarco week 2015. This will be running along a different highschool AU than my first fanfiction, so no reference to it will be made here. As of now, I don't plan on adding any nsfw to this. It's going to stay moderately appropriate, so no worries there! As always, feed back is most certainly welcomed and wanted!

 This is how his last year would be playing out then, huh? It started out relatively normal for a first day back to school. Excited squeals from people seeing their friends again, some kids trying to beat the rush and get to class early, some were reading while others were just hanging back and talking. Jean was leaning against the wall close to the stairwell as he listened to Reiner, Connie, and Sasha catch up with each other. Jean decided to not join in the chat too much, but he did speak up every once in a while. Like him, Bertolt had also decided to stay out of the conversation, but instead of standing against the wall with Jean, he stayed behind Reiner. Those two were inseparable, really, and were obviously dating. They weren't all over each other, atleast not in school, but you could just tell by the way they looked at each other, the way they spoke to each other. Unlike the rest of their friends, Jean found it almost sickening. He wasn't jealous, but just was never one to be interested in relationships or love. If he ever did fall in love, he promised himself he wouldn't be like them. No way would he let himself be that consumed by someone else.

 

 Jean's thoughts were cut short when Sasha slapped a hand onto his shoulder. "C'mon, Grumpy, we're heading to class. You are cordially invited to walk with us, if you'd like." She said, giving him a smile. 

 

 "But you gotta leave that stick you've had wedged up your ass here if you're coming." Connie added, also giving Jean a smile. He wasn't sure if he missed Connie and his humor or not. In all honesty, he did miss everyone, but he was too proud to admit that to himself. 

 

 His joke earned a laugh from Reiner and Sasha, and a soft chuckle from Bertolt. Jean rolled his eyes and followed the other four as they started walking. "Very funny, Springer. You wait all summer to spring that on me?" He huffed, crossing his arms.

 

"Girls, girls, girls, let's not fight, you're both pretty." Reiner laughed, getting a light smack on his arm from Bertolt. "Anyways, which class do you guys have first? I have English."

 

"I got that, too." Connie said, a little unenthusiastically. English had never really been his favorite subject. 

 

"Same here." Jean added.

 

"Looks like all five of us have the same class!" Sasha said, confirming that she also had English class first.

 

"Actually," Bertolt started. His voice was low, but loud enough to hear. He had always been the quiet type, and only really talked alot with Reiner, Annie, and occasionally Armin. "I have calculus first. Maybe we all have some other class together?" He asked. Bertolt didn't seem too thrilled about going to calculus, but Jean assumed this was because he and Reiner would have to be away from each other for two periods. 

 

 "What?" Sasha gasped dramatically. "Bertolt doesn't have the same class as us? This means he and Reiner... They won't be together?" As she finished, Connie got a shocked look on his face.

 

"How will either of them survive?!" Connie said while Sasha fanned herself.

 

Reiner, who glared at them while they put on their show, gave an annoyed sigh. "Alright, alright. We don't need to be reminded." 

 

The comedy duo both laughed and said their goodbyes to Bertolt once they reached their classroom, and hurried in to find seats next to each other. Everyone suspected they were secretly dating, or at least crushing on each other hard, but both claimed they were just very good friends. When this was brought up, almost always by Ymir since she was a very blunt person, Sasha would change the subject to why a boy and a girl couldn't just be best friends without people thinking there was more going on. But the blush on both of their faces when this happened seemed to say otherwise. Jean offered a wave to Bertolt, who most likely didn't see it as Reiner currently had his focus, and turned to go in the room. There were a few people already seated, even though there were almost seven minutes left until class actually started. Luckily for Jean, There was an open table at the back of the room. Unluckily for him, each table sat two students, which meant he'd have to sit beside someone. It would most likely be Reiner, but still. He casually strolled down the aisle, opting to sit in the middle row. He was about to take a seat when he felt a rubber band hit his arm. He hissed and rubbed where it hit as he heard the familiar giggles of a certain midget and his unofficial girlfriend. Not even turning to glare at them, he immediately went around and sat in the next row over. 

 

Since he was in the back, and in the row the teachers desk wasn't facing, he could easily goof off, day dream, or even sleep. What a sweet deal. He just hoped whoever sat beside him wouldn't bust him when he did these things, though. Again, he thought Reiner would take the seat next to him, so he wasn't too worried about that. As the minutes ticked by, he glanced at the door just in time to see Reiner finally come in. Though, he was now accompanied by Ymir, who had her arm slung over his shoulder. That girl had no idea what personal space was. Connie called them over, gesturing for them to take the table Jean was going to sit at. It still wasn't occupied as the rest of the students actually wanted to see the board and pay attention. Why they would, Jean would never know. Reiner was steered to the table by Ymir, who pulled out a chair for him once they got to it. Reiner seemed to not really want to sit beside Ymir, which was understandable. Once, in middle school, Ymir thought Reiner was trying to make a move on Krista, which ended with her foot going right between his balls. Reiner had been uneasy around Ymir ever since.

 

"Ladies first." She teased, gesturing the blond to sit.

 

"Gee, thanks." Reiner grumbled, hesitantly sitting down. Surprisingly, Ymir did not move the chair so Reiner would fall.

 

Once Ymir was seated, Jean raised an eyebrow, turning to look at the two. "Hey, Reiner. What's this about? Found a new tall, tan, brunette to take Bertls place?"

 

 Ymir leaned back in her seat to allow Reiner to look at Jean. He narrowed his eyes at him and opened his mouth to speak, but as he did, the bell rang. It signaled the start of class, and meant all the poor souls still stuck in the hallways were now late. It also officially signaled the start of a brand new year. The last year of this shit. Jean hoped this year would go by without any problem. Emphasis on hope. 

 

 The teacher, Mrs. Nanaba Zacharius, started speaking. She had a soft, quiet tone, but you could tell she wasn't a push over. Jean could just see it in her eyes. She started out with the same old things every teacher talks about on the first day. Telling them supplies they needed for the rest of the year, what units they'd be covering, and that the seats they were in would be permanent. Mostly everyone made soft sounds of relief, most notably Connie and Sasha, as they managed to sit with people they actually liked. The look on Reiner's face when he heard this was enough to make Jean's year complete. That aside, Jean was happy. He ended up being alone, which meant he didn't risk sitting beside someone who might tell on him for not being on task. He relaxed and leaned back, starting to drift off as Mrs. Zacharius continued on.

 

 "I like to get to know my students. I'd also like you all to get acquainted with each other, as I plan to have you all work in many group projects." She smiled, walking to stand in front of the middle row. "I know some of you may be too mature for ice breakers, but just humor me. It'll make this period go by faster if you di. I'll start, then I would like to start with you," she pointed to a girl seated in the first row, "then go down the row. Please state your name, and a little about yourself. Alright?" There were a few sounds of agreement in response to her.

 

 She nodded, and hummed in thought. "My name is Nanaba Zacharius. I am married to Mr. Zacharius, who some of you may have for history, and I have been teaching for almost seven years now." She kept her smile, turning her muted blue eyes to the girl she had pointed at. "Alright, sweetie, you may go."

 

 The girl's name was Mina Carolina, then Thomas Wagner, and then it was... Actually, after hearing this Wagner kid, who was obviously nervous as hell, drone on about miniscule details about himself, Jean spaced out. He was a forced to snap back to reality when, out of no where, the door to the classroom flew open. The knob was hastily grabbed by whoever just came in before it could bang against the door stopper. Everyone turned their attention away from the student who was speaking and looked at the opened doorway. Standing there was a tan, panting, black haired boy who's face couldn't be seen as he was hunched, regaining his breath. He obviously booked it here, which made since as he was over fifteen minutes late to class. Jean hadn't even seen this kid in the halls, so he must have missed the bus or something. After a few seconds, he lifted his face to see Mrs. Zacharius, who had made her way to him almost as soon as he bursted in. She had her arms crossed, but didn't make any movements to show she was annoyed, or that this kid was in trouble. She didn't even look like she was about to chew him out. She was actually smiling.

 

 "I knew I was missing a student!" She said, not letting him speak or stutter out any apology. "Well, you are late, but just in time in a way." She took the slip of paper, most likely a tardy slip, from his hand, and turned to walk back to her previous place. She gestured for him to come in, which he immediately did, closing the door behind him. "We were all just telling each other a little about ourselves. Since you decided to and avoid that, and then come in and interrupt Samuel here, you will go next." Well, she may not have been angry, but she did act sort of... Passive aggressive. So that is this teachers game, then. "Please tell us your name, and something about yourself."

 

 The kid just stood there at the front of the class, looking like a deer caught in headlights. He rubbed the back of his neck and avoided all the eyes on him. "W-well... My name is Marco Bodt, my family just moved here and... And... I like animals, I guess?" He glanced at Mrs. Zacharius for approval, to which she nodded and motioned for him to sit down. He quickly scanned the room, finally settling his eyes on the only open seat; the chair right next to Jean. He quickly moved towards the table, wanting to take the attention off him as soonsoon as possible. As Marco got closer, Jean focused more on him and his features. Neatly parted hair, brown eyes and a face full of freckles. How many freckles? A fuck ton seems like an appropriate measurement. Jean was too distracted, barely registering Marco sitting next to him. He shook his head and locked eyes with him. It was now that he realized this guy had just said something to him, and Jean had no idea what it was. 

 

 "I'm sorry, did you say something?" He asked in a low voice as the next student stood to speak.

 

  "Oh, I had said I hope you don't mind me sitting here. It was really the only spot left." Marco said, giving Jean a smile. It looked very friendly, but it also looked apologetic. Almost as if Marco was truly sorry for sitting there. It was actually really cute.

 

 Wait, no no. This wasn't going to happen. While Jean really wasn't interested in love or relationships at the moment, he did have crushes before. They were mainly just physical attractions he had over someone he didn't know that much. He got them alot, but never really acted on them. This was because when he would try to go talk to the person, he'd lock up and just embarrass himself. This, and he didn't get crushes on any of the girls in his grade. He didn't know, at the time, that this was perfectly normal. He was always told it had to be a female and a male, so he eventually stopped trying to even talk to any boy he liked. This eventually lead to him not even going after his crushes, even after he found out what liking a boy is called and that it wasn't a bad thing to be. This aside, since he developed crushes alot, he knew very well what they felt like. And he just felt the familiar tingle in the pit of his stomach. 

 

 He refused to let this happen. He wasn't in denial of his sexuality at all, but no one really knew of it. In short, he wasn't out yet. No, the reason he didn't want this to happen was because if these seats were permanent all year, and if he was seriously developing a crush for this guy, the year was going to become absolute hell. How was he going to keep his sexuality a secret and manage to sit next to Marco without anyone finding out? 

 

 Jean must've been in thought too long as he felt a gentle tap on his arm. He blinked, looking at Marco once again. He had his eyebrows furrowed, a slight look of concern and confusion on his face. "Are you okay? You went silent there." He asked.

 

 "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Don't make it gay, man." He leaned back in his chair, putting on a relaxed, non chalant look. He acted as if he didn't just have a miniature mental break down. It was ironic, the joke he made, but it just came out. He was almost kicking himself for saying it until he heard a soft giggle and a quiet 'okay' from the boy beside him. This was going to be an extremely hard year.

 

 Not too long after that, it was Jean's turn to stand. He did so, clearing his throat before speaking. "Jean Kirstein. Movies are cool." He finished and took his seat again. He just wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. He really didn't care for this at all, and it clearly shown in his voice. After he finished, Mrs. Zacharius clapped her hands and moved to the board.

 

 "Alright! Thank you, everyone. Now let's get this year started, shall we?" She said as she started writing down the days topic.

 

Yes, let's get this year started. And let's get it over with as soon as possible.


	2. Opposites Attract

 They talked a bit more during the period as the rest of it just developed into free time. Jean was never really a chatty person, especially around people he just met. It also didn't help that this particular person that was trying to talk to him was someone he may be forming a crush on. Despite this, he didn't try to end the conversation with Marco. Though, when he did respond, he stuttered, and was obviously a bit nervous. Very embarrassing, but no biggie to Jean. Marco, who Jean was starting to peg as the nicest guy he has ever met, didn't question his stutter, or point out his weird behavior. Lucky for him, as he wouldn't have a good excuse for himself. As soon as the class was over, Jean quickly left. Well, he left right after receiving a small wave and a goodbye from Marco. He was still pink, and he hadn't fully recovered himself from the encounter, so he decided to walk to his next class alone.

 

 Science class with the infamous Ms. Hanji Zoe was next for him. Jean had heard she was a pretty laid back and fun teacher, but was also nuttier than squirrel shit. He prepared himself for anything. Even with the possibility of Zoe actually being crazy, Jean wasn't worried of that anymore as upon getting there, he saw no one he knew had the class with him, and the seats were regular desks. Great for him as he could have time alone to recover himself after English. His next classes were calculus, art class, then it was a off to lunch. He had the misfortune of having art the same period as Eren Jaeger, but fortunately, Krista Lenz was there. She acted as the voice of reason among their friends, so the other two's arguments didn't get too heated during the class. Atleast he didn't have to worry too much about fighting or being alone with Jaeger for forty five minutes. It was known by everyone that Krista was an angel. It was also known that her and the school's scariest, most intimidating girl were dating. Everyone always wondered how Krista ended up with Ymir, what with their extremely different personalities. Then again, opposites do attract. Or, it could be Krista lost a bet. That was Jean's explanation, anyway.

 

 The three walked to lunch, Krista in the middle of the two boys, and found their group of friends. Nothing that exciting happened. Just like every other years lunch, really; Ymir had Krista beside her, with Ymir going from being a saint to her to the lovable asshole she always was to anyone else, with Bertolt and Reiner sitting next to each other across from them, acting all gross and in love, and Sasha and Connie sitting across from each other, cracking jokes and bumming food from anyone at the table. The duo also was annoying the living hell out of Eren, who was forced to sit beside Sasha. He was subjected to hear all their corny jokes, kept getting elbowed, and even had a few chips flung onto his tray by one of the two, all because he refused to sit across from Jean. Wasn't anything to get upset over, as this meant Jean didn't have to smell his over powering cologne. This always happened to whoever sat beside Connie or Sasha. The way they sat was sort of silently arranged, this decision excluding Connie, Sasha, and Eren. At the beginning of highschool, Reiner was usually pushed over, sitting in front of Jean. This was done so Mikasa Ackerman could sit beside Eren. They were very close, and almost the entire group thought Mikasa had a crush on Eren. But, since she had transferred to an all girls school, along with Annie Leonhardt, there was now an empty seat beside Eren. Soon, it got switched to were the empty seat was in front of Jean. This meant the two couples got to sit in front of each other. Jean had his suspicions this was done on purpose, but he could care less. As for the empty seat across from Jaeger, it was filled by Armin Arlert. He was Eren's best friend, who was, just like Ymir and Krista, almost different from him in every way. Either he also lost a bet, or opposites really did attract. The seat was to remain empty for the rest of the year as Armin didn't share this lunch period with the rest of the group. While it was funny to watch Eren get tortured, it was a bit sad that Armin had to be alone now. It wasn't too bothering to Jean as that was just how the cookie crumbled.

 

 That's how Eren and Armin's cookie crumbled, and this is how Jean's crumbled; He looked across the empty seat at the table in front of them just to find the same freckled face that he may or may not have been falling for. There Marco was, sitting with two people Jean didn't know, and that boring Thomas guy. The seat across from Marco was empty, giving Jean a full view of him. Well not a complete full view, but he did see part of his upper torso and his smiling face. Not too long after his eyes wandered over, he saw Marco laugh. It was faint, but it still captivated Jean. Everything came back into reality as he was smacked on the arm by Ymir.

 

 "Hey, Bleach Blondie, do you always blush when someone asks for your chips or do you just find me that attractive?" She said.

 

 Jean hadn't even noticed the slight tinge of pink creep onto his cheeks. He blinked at Ymir, who had her eyebrows raised, waiting for an answer. The whole table was looking at him; Reiner, Connie, Sasha and Eren laughed at Ymir's dumb joke while Krista, who gave him an apologetic look, and Bertolt, who shook his head at the other five, stayed out of it. They, especially Krista, were used to Ymir's comments, jokes, and nicknames by now. Jean grumbled, grabbed the bag and tossed it at Ymir. Before she gave it to the true recipient, who was Connie, she offered it to Krista instead. She declined it, which calmed Connie down. This moment was a perfect example of how much Connie loved sour cream and onion chips, and how Ymir put Krista before anyone else. The table returned to its previous state with Ymir, Krista, Bertolt, and Reiner talking about who knows what, Sasha and Connie continuing their jokes and new fight over Jean's chips while Eren tried adjusting to the two for another year, and Jean staying quiet unless he felt like speaking up. Which wasn't much, though, as his mind was too distracted. Was he falling for Marco? No, couldn't be. Well... Maybe, but it was just a physical attraction. It would go away after a while, it had to. He hoped so.

* * *

 

 After lunch, it was off to gym. 'Nice planning on the schools part.' Jean thought. 'Have a bunch of kids running and jumping right after eating. Someone's going to puke this year.' He just knew it. To make matters worse, he had this class along with Bertolt and Reiner. Normally, he wouldn't mind, and it wasn't all that bad, until Reiner started to 'unintentionally' flex and show his muscles off to Bertolt. It wasn't anything too obvious, but Jean noticed it. The period dragged on, and thankfully, the bell for class change rang. Jean grabbed his stuff, and started walking. He did offer a wave to the other two, which was returned, so he didn't just rush off like he did that morning. He had history next. When he arrived, he had no idea how he had guessed that the teacher would be Mr. Zacharius. He was surrounded by couples, good lord. What, would he be taking this class with Ymir and Krista? Reiner and Bertolt? Sasha and Connie? Eren and Armin? Hell, would Mikasa just suddenly show up and reveal not only is she taking this one class at this school, but that she and Eren were dating? To be fair, three of those weren't actually real couples, but it didn't matter. Jean was sick of love, sick of hearing about it, sick of being near it, just sick of it.

 

 It seemed Mr. And Mrs. Zacharius love the table desk idea as he had the same seating arrangements. Only, instead of one table that could sit two students, he had two pushed together. This meant that no matter where Jean sat, he would have someone in front of him, and beside him. He took a seat at an empty table in the middle of the room, not being able to get the back seats, and waited to see which three idiots he had to deal with sitting at these crummy tables with him. Turned out, the three idiots he had to deal with were Reiner, Connie, and Eren. He had no idea if this was bad or good. He knew these guys. He was friends with two of them and tolerated the other. Then again, Connie was sitting across from him, and Eren was beside him. No worries, he could elbow Eren and kick Connie if need be. This wouldn't be so bad, Jean could make this work. He didn't mind his friends, but they were just a pain at times. But he would rather deal with these pains than some new ones. 'Yeah,' He thought, 'This is fine. Maybe this is a sign this last bit of the day will end alright.' Or it could be that it was about to royally screw him over. 

 

 Once again, Jean was wrong. The group right across from his sat Marco. The same black haired, freckled Marco that just had to look so pretty. He just had to, right? Maybe Marco was sent to torture Jean with this dumb crush as some sort of karma thing. Jean had done a few bad things, like get into fights in elementary school over tiny thing or take his paint bottles outside to paint on the neighbors side of the picket fence, but did he really deserve this? This stupid, queasy, fuzzy feeling in his stomach? He barely knew Marco, maybe enough to call him an acquaintance. This was just physical attraction, not emotional. It will just go away soon. Good god, it better. Thanks to Connie's short height, Jean was sort of able to see over to the next table. No one was in the seat in front of Marco. Okay, he could deal with that. Maybe this kid is late, or just not here for some odd reason. Mr. Zacharius started roll call. Ten... Twenty two... Twenty six... Twenty seven kids... A class of twenty seven kids, and there are twenty eight chairs. _Fuck_. If Reiner and Eren stayed where they were seated, and Connie was going to sit where he was all year, and if Marco kept sitting where he was, and if the two other guys at his table stayed in those spots, Jean would get an eye full of freckle every time he looked straight ahead. 

 

 Jean would've been very happy with keeping up his whole uncaring, slight asshole, cool guy front for the rest of year. He would've been content with it being broken for one class. But, of course, it was going to be broken at the beginning and the end of the day, and maybe  sometime in the middle of it if he was real lucky. It would be shattered in the morning, and just when Jean thought he had gathered every piece up, he gets knocked into and drops every tiny piece again. He hated this stupid crush, and he hated how attractive Marco was. He sighed, and tried to keep his eyes down as he drifted off, the teachers voice slowly fading out as he zoned out. How would the rest of this week go? The month? Next month? What if he didn't kick this? No, he would. He always has, and he will now. Jean promised himself that tomorrow, no matter what, he was going to stop being attracted to Marco. He was going to do much better.

* * *

 

 He failed miserably at stopping. It was almost two months now, and he had just managed to fall harder. The scariest part was, he had ended up getting to talk more with Marco, which meant he got to know more and more about him. It wasn't just because they were paired together to do group assignments in English, or that Marco was invited to sit with the rest of the group at lunch by Bertolt, who actually had music class with Marco. No, they didn't talk just because of those moments. It was also because Marco had actually started talking to Jean after class. Willingly. It sort of surprised Jean the first time Marco said something to him after class. It wasn't anything too long, just a 'Hey, Jean!' accompanied by a smile. Jean didn't have much time to respond as it was when they were passing each other in the hall, and it completely caught him off gaurd. After that day, whenever Marco saw Jean, he almost always said hello to him, with Jean eventually giving him a small nod or wave back. Just when Jean got over his shyness and decided to say a real hello to Marco first, Marco came out of left field by actually stopping and saying something more to Jean. When he saw that this wouldn't be the usual hi, Jean locked up. He was at his locker, getting his science book and putting up his gym shoes. He had just finished when Marco came to him, so now he had no excuse to not look at him and that cute smile of his. 

 

 "Hey, Jean! We had science homework last night, right? I got so busy with calculus that I was too exhausted to work on anything else." He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

 

 "Uh... Y-yeah..." He stuttered out. 'Dammit, Kirstein, that wasn't even a hot stutter.' "But, it was just a reading assignment. You're fine." 'God, so fine.'

 

 Marco breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "Thanks, Jean. I was seriously worried there for a second." He said. "Hey, do you want to walk to science together?"

 

 Wait, did he just ask him to walk to class with him? Is this a good sign? Does Marco like him, too? Is this what it looks like when someone else actually returns his feelings? Is this what they say?

 

 "I just thought it would make sense, you know? You're going to science after your locker, so we'd just be going the same way anyways." He continued. "Might as well walk together."

 

 Oh. Oh, of course. "Yeah, alright. I'm finished here anyways, so let's go." He closed the locker door, mentally screaming at himself for jumping to conclusions like that. 

 

 The walk was silent, but it was a comfortable silence. It wasn't awkward, and neither boy felt tense. Well, Jean did feel a bit tense, and was worried that he was messing something up. Did he stay silent? Did he say something? What would he even say? He was so used to walking alone, or walking with a few of his friends, who always talked first and then brought Jean into the conversation. His mind was racing and he knew he was about to show all the nervousness he had been trying so hard to hold in. He glanced at Marco, who hadn't noticed Jean essentially having a mini break down. Jean took a breath to calm himself down, and he instantly relaxed. He breathed in that sweet scent that always followed Marco. It was faint, but it smelled so nice. Jean thought it smelled like a mixture of cinnamon and vanilla. It smelled nice, Marco was nice, and Marco looked so _nice_. 

 

 Once they got close to their stop, Marco turned to Jean. 

 

 "Thanks for walking with me, Jean." Marco said, flashing Jean that stupid, cute smile of his.

 

 "Yeah," 'Alright, Jean Smooth-stein, go in for the kill.' "Anytime." 'Perfect.'

 

 Marco nodded, and opened the door for them both. With that, they departed to go to their seats. First time they walked to class together, and Jean has to say, he thought it went great. He even managed to look a little cool at the end there. He sat down and released the breath he didn't even realize he was holding. 

 

 "So, Marco walked you to class?" Reiner said just a few seconds after Jean sat down.

 

 "Yeah, so what?" Jean layed his head on his hand, peering over at Reiner.

 

 "Wow, that poor soul. He had to put up with Jean for that long?" Eren snickered. "I think he needs a medal. Poor guy is probably traumatized."

 

 Jean narrowed his eyes at him. "It was a three and a half minute walk, numb nuts. And he isn't traumatized by me, he's traumatized by that disgusting stench you call cologne."

 

 Just as Eren was about to speak, Mr. Zacharius cut him off. 

 

 "Alright, settle down." He said, the room falling silent as he did. "Please open your books to page ten. Today, we are going to go over any questions you had from the assignment last night." 

 

 A few relieved noises were heard at the mention of going over the section. It was a pretty good guess that not alot of people actually read it. Mr. Zacharius barely reacted at this, but he knew what that meant. 

 

 "Guessing from that, I should let you just read the section. Ten minutes." He said, sitting back down at his desk. "Start."

 

 After everyone was settled, and had their books open, it got quiet. Almost everyone was reading, except for a few students.  Some drew, or talked quietly, or just zoned out. Among those few were Jean. He didn't read the section last night for the simple fact of he didn't want to, and he still didn't want to. He started out just staring at the page, making it seem like he was reading. But, after a few minutes, his gaze wandered over to the table in front of him. More specifically, over to Marco. He was just reading. Connie just so happened to go home early that day after gym. Sasha had said someone accidentally hit him in the head with a basketball, giving him a headache and a small bruised bump. While that was bad, and Jean hoped he wasn't in too much pain, he was slightly happy as this meant he had a clear view of Marco. That empty seat in front of him had stayed open since the first day, so he really always had a view of Marco. But, this time, he didn't have to worry about Connie's head blocking part of his path. He tried to not stare Marco down, but every time he looked away, they just came right back to him. Even if he was just reading, Jean just couldn't stop looking. 

 

 They had gotten closer since the first day, but Jean had noticed Marco made friends fast. He guessed it was just because of how nice he was, or how funny he was, or maybe it was because of his warm smile or that he was just so damn helpful to anyone he met. He wasn't like Jean, almost the complete opposite of him, really. Marco was a hard worker, Jean wasn't. Marco was a social butterfly, Jean wasn't. Marco was nice, Jean wasn't. Atleast not in the conventional way. Not only were their personalities different, but their looks weren't even alike in anyway. Jean knew how different they were, but he just couldn't kick this crush. It drove him insane. Why was he attracted to the someone who was the opposite of him in almost every way? His thoughts were cut short when he felt a soft pinch on his right arm.

 

 "What the hell, Eren?!" Jean whispered angrily, whipping his head to the side to glare at him. The little bastard better have something important to say, Jean was sort of busy trying to sort his problems out.

 

 Eren had a smug, shit eating grin on. "You got the hots for Bodt, don't you?" He whispered.

 

 Instantly Jean's face erupted in red. "What? No, of course I don't." He turned back to his book, hoping that would end their conversation. Besides, he knew that he was going to lose control of his voice if he continued on.

 

 "You liar. You were staring him down, man." Eren said. "Dream on if you think you'd end up with him, Kirstein. Right Reiner?" He laughed softly, looking over at Reiner who had been listening in the whole time.

 

 Reiner looked over at Eren, then Jean. Jean was now fidgeting, face red, and didn't have the usual annoyed expression he got whenever Eren even breathed around him too loudly. His expression now was mixed with pure embarrassment, and a hint of anger. He sighed and shook his head. "I didn't see him stare." Reiner said quietly. "Eren, leave him alone. You may be joking, but don't you remember what happened last time you took a joke about Jean too far?" All three knew what he was talking about, and, just as Reiner had planned, it cheered Jean up a bit. 

 

 Eren huffed and turned down to look at his book. "He was only able to do that since he caught me off guard. Didn't scare me at all." Eren just didn't want to admit that he was practically pissing himself when Jean slammed him against a wall in middle school for calling him a horse. That memory wasn't forgotten among the group. Not only because it was funny remember Eren screaming like a girl, but it was also funny to remember Mikasa punching Jean afterwards. From then on, Eren never made a horse joke around Jean again, and no one dared to mess with Eren, especially Jean. 

  

  With that, the subject was dropped. Jean was greatful that Reiner had stepped in like that. He had to do something to show his thanks. Maybe he'd buy him lunch, or not groan when he flirted with Bertolt during gym. He'd figure it out later. What was more important right now was trying to figure out if Eren really did know of Jean's crush on Marco or if he was just being a prick as usual. Was he being that obvious? He couldn't of been. He prayed he wasn't. If someone as dense as Eren could figure it out, then anyone could. He was trying to think of something, anything, to try to subtly find out if anyone actually knew. What if it got out? What if Marco found out? What if he laughed at him? Or was disgusted with him? His mind was too crowded with question to even pay attention to the lesson.

 

 Jean either had to get over this, or try to get all his courage and pursue a most likely hopeless crush. And since he had already tried one of those choices, he decided which one he had to do. But he was still going to keep both choices in mind. Just in case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like the new chapter! Let's have a nice update to celebrate going back to school. And because of that, updates for both my stories will take a little longer. I will get them out though. 
> 
> As always, feedback is always wanted, and if you find any major spelling errors, please let me know! I do double check my work, but I'm always paranoid I missed something. If you have a question, or anything else, you can find me at tumblr as kdlynx. I also sometimes post updates on my writing there. Until the next update, have a great day/night!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this was okay! I hope I don't sound too repetitive when I say that feedback is always wanted and welcomed. It'll help me improve so I can make better stories for you guys! I'm treading in dangerous waters as this is the first time I've written anyone besides Jean or Marco, so I apologize if anyone seems out of character. 
> 
> As always, I went back to make sure I corrected any spelling errors, but I may have missed some. Please tell me if you find any! I don't know when the next update will be, nor do I plan to have a schedule for updates. But I do plan on finishing this before school starts up again.
> 
> Stay tuned for more chapters if you'd like!


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